Australian rugby league premiers

The Australian rugby league premiers are the winners of the First Grade competition in Australian rugby league, which is currently the National Rugby League.

History

The first season of rugby league in New South Wales was held in 1908 and run by the New South Wales Rugby Football League. The premiership was formed as a breakaway competition from the amateur rugby union competition that existed in the Sydney district at the time, with which players had fallen out of heart with due to increased revenue from the game not being reflected in player allowments. At the end of the 1908 season, South Sydney became the first team to win the premiership.

During the 1980s, the competition began to spread out interstate. Starting from 1995, the competition began to be run by the Australian Rugby League. In 1997, a rival competition created by News Limited known as Super League was formed and run alongside the Australian Rugby League premiership, in which a number of teams defected to. Later that year, an agreement was made between the two parties following massive financial losses to merge into a new competition, known as the National Rugby League. Each of these seasons is considered to represent one continuous line of competition dating back from the first season in 1908.

South Sydney, with 21 titles, have been crowned premiers more times than any other team. They are followed by St. George (15), including a record 11 premierships in a row between 1956 and 1966. The Sydney Roosters, formerly known as Eastern Suburbs, are third with 13 titles. At the opposite end of the spectrum, the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks are yet to win a premiership after 44 seasons - longer than any other club in the history of the game (Parramatta's maiden premiership came in its 35th season in 1981).

List of Premierships

1908-1994 - New South Wales Rugby League

SeasonWinnersRunners-upScoreMinor Premiers
1908 South Sydney Eastern Suburbs14-12 South Sydney
1909 South Sydney[1] BalmainForfeit South Sydney
1910 Newtown South Sydney4-4 Newtown
1911 Eastern Suburbs Glebe11-8 Glebe
1912 Eastern Suburbs Glebe Eastern Suburbs
1913 Eastern Suburbs Newtown Eastern Suburbs
1914 South Sydney Newtown South Sydney
1915 Balmain Glebe Balmain
1916 Balmain South Sydney5-3 Balmain
1917 Balmain South Sydney Balmain
1918 South Sydney Western Suburbs South Sydney
1919 Balmain Eastern Suburbs Balmain
1920 Balmain South Sydney Balmain
1921 North Sydney Eastern Suburbs North Sydney
1922 North Sydney Glebe35-3 North Sydney
1923 Eastern Suburbs South Sydney15-12 Eastern Suburbs
1924 Balmain South Sydney3-0 Balmain
1925 South Sydney Western Suburbs South Sydney
1926 South Sydney University11-5 South Sydney
1927 South Sydney St. George20-11 South Sydney
1928 South Sydney Eastern Suburbs26-5 St. George
1929 South Sydney Newtown30-10 South Sydney
1930 Western Suburbs St. George27-2 Western Suburbs
1931 South Sydney Eastern Suburbs12-7 Eastern Suburbs
1932 South Sydney Western Suburbs23-8 South Sydney
1933 Newtown St. George18-5 Newtown
1934 Western Suburbs Eastern Suburbs15-12 Eastern Suburbs
1935 Eastern Suburbs South Sydney19-3 Eastern Suburbs
1936 Eastern Suburbs Balmain32-12 Eastern Suburbs
1937 Eastern Suburbs South Sydney Eastern Suburbs
1938 Canterbury-Bankstown Eastern Suburbs19-6 Canterbury-Bankstown
1939 Balmain South Sydney33-4 Balmain
1940 Eastern Suburbs Canterbury-Bankstown24-14 Eastern Suburbs
1941 St. George Eastern Suburbs31-14 Eastern Suburbs
1942 Canterbury-Bankstown St. George11-9 Canterbury-Bankstown
1943 Newtown North Sydney34-7 Newtown
1944 BalmainNewtown12-8 Newtown
1945 Eastern Suburbs Balmain22-18 Eastern Suburbs
1946 Balmain St. George13-12 St. George
1947 Balmain Canterbury-Bankstown13-9 Canterbury-Bankstown
1948 Western Suburbs Balmain8-5 Western Suburbs
1949 St. George South Sydney19-12 South Sydney
1950 South Sydney Western Suburbs21-15 South Sydney
1951 South Sydney Manly-Warringah42-14 South Sydney
1952 Western Suburbs South Sydney22-12 Western Suburbs
1953 South Sydney St. George31-12 South Sydney
1954 South Sydney Newtown23-15 Newtown
1955 South Sydney Newtown12-11 Newtown
1956 St. George Balmain18-12 St. George
1957 St. George Manly-Warringah31-9 St. George
1958 St. George Western Suburbs20-9 St. George
1959 St. George Manly-Warringah20-0 St. George
1960 St. George Eastern Suburbs31-6 St. George
1961 St. George Western Suburbs22-0 Western Suburbs
1962 St. George Western Suburbs9-6 St. George
1963 St. George Western Suburbs8-3 St. George
1964 St. George Balmain11-6 St. George
1965 St. George South Sydney12-8 St. George
1966 St. George Balmain23-4 St. George
1967 South Sydney Canterbury-Bankstown12-10 St. George
1968 South Sydney Manly-Warringah13-9 South Sydney
1969 Balmain South Sydney11-2 South Sydney
1970 South Sydney Manly-Warringah23-12 South Sydney
1971 South Sydney St. George16-10 Manly-Warringah
1972 Manly-Warringah Eastern Suburbs19-14 Manly-Warringah
1973 Manly-Warringah Cronulla-Sutherland10-7 Manly-Warringah
1974 Eastern Suburbs Canterbury-Bankstown19-4 Eastern Suburbs
1975 Eastern Suburbs St. George38-0 Eastern Suburbs
1976 Manly-Warringah Parramatta13-10 Manly-Warringah
1977 St. George[2] Parramatta22-0 Parramatta
1978 Manly-Warringah[2] Cronulla-Sutherland16-0 Western Suburbs
1979 St. George Canterbury-Bankstown17-13 St. George
1980 Canterbury-Bankstown Eastern Suburbs18-4 Eastern Suburbs
1981 Parramatta Newtown20-11 Eastern Suburbs
1982 Parramatta Manly-Warringah21-8 Parramatta
1983 Parramatta Manly-Warringah18-6 Manly-Warringah
1984 Canterbury-Bankstown Parramatta6-4 Canterbury-Bankstown
1985 Canterbury-Bankstown St. George7-6 St. George
1986 Parramatta Canterbury-Bankstown4-2 Parramatta
1987 Manly-Warringah Canberra18-8 Manly-Warringah
Season Grand Final Date Winning Team Score Losing Team Location GF Attendance Clive Churchill Medal
1988 11 September 1988 Canterbury Bulldogs (6) 24-12 Balmain Tigers Sydney Football Stadium, Sydney (1) 40,000 Paul Dunn
1989 24 September 1989 Canberra Raiders (1) 19-14 (aet) Balmain Tigers Sydney Football Stadium, Sydney (2) 40,500 Bradley Clyde
1990 23 September 1990 Canberra Raiders (2) 18-14 Penrith Panthers Sydney Football Stadium, Sydney (3) 41,535 Ricky Stuart
1991 22 September 1991 Penrith Panthers (1) 19-12 Canberra Raiders Sydney Football Stadium, Sydney (4) 41,815 Bradley Clyde
1992 27 September 1992 Brisbane Broncos (1) 28-8 St. George Dragons Sydney Football Stadium, Sydney (5) 41,560 Allan Langer
1993 26 September 1993 Brisbane Broncos (2) 14-6 St. George Dragons Sydney Football Stadium, Sydney (6) 42,329 Brad Mackay
1994 25 September 1994 Canberra Raiders (3) 36-12 Canterbury Bulldogs Sydney Football Stadium, Sydney (7) 42,234 David Furner

1995-1997 - Australian Rugby League

Season Grand Final Date Winning Team Score Losing Team Location GF Attendance Clive Churchill Medal
1995 24 September 1995 Canterbury Bulldogs (7) 17-4 Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles Sydney Football Stadium, Sydney (8) 41,127 Jim Dymock
1996 29 September 1996 Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles (6) 20-8 St. George Dragons Sydney Football Stadium, Sydney (9) 40,985 Geoff Toovey
1997 28 September 1997 Newcastle Knights (1) 22-16 Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles Sydney Football Stadium, Sydney (10) 42,482 Robbie O'Davis

1997 - Super League

Season Grand Final Date Winning Team Score Losing Team Location GF Attendance Clive Churchill Medal
1997 20 September 1997 Brisbane Broncos (3) 26-8 Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks ANZ Stadium, Brisbane (1) 58,912 -

1998-present - National Rugby League

Season Grand Final Date Winning Team

(Number of Premierships)

Score Losing Team Location

(Grand Finals at Venue)

GF Attendance Clive Churchill Medal
1998 27 September 1998 Brisbane Broncos (4) 38-12 Canterbury Bulldogs Sydney Football Stadium, Sydney (11) 40,857 Gorden Tallis
1999 26 September 1999 Melbourne Storm (1) 20-18 St. George-Illawarra Dragons Stadium Australia, Sydney (1) 107,999 Brett Kimmorley
2000 27 August 2000 Brisbane Broncos (5) 14-6 Sydney Roosters Stadium Australia, Sydney (2) 94,277 Darren Lockyer
2001 30 September 2001 Newcastle Knights (2) 30-24 Parramatta Eels Stadium Australia, Sydney (3) 90,414 Andrew Johns
2002 6 October 2002 Sydney Roosters (12) 30-8 New Zealand Warriors Stadium Australia, Sydney (4) 80,130 Craig Fitzgibbon
2003 5 October 2003 Penrith Panthers (2) 18-6 Sydney Roosters Stadium Australia, Sydney (5) 81,166 Luke Priddis
2004 3 October 2004 Canterbury Bulldogs (8) 16-13 Sydney Roosters Stadium Australia, Sydney (6) 82,127 Willie Mason
2005 2 October 2005 Wests Tigers (1) 30-16 North Queensland Cowboys Stadium Australia, Sydney (7) 82,453 Scott Prince
2006 1 October 2006 Brisbane Broncos (6) 15-8 Melbourne Storm Stadium Australia, Sydney (8) 79,609 Shaun Berrigan
2007 30 September 2007 Melbourne Storm (2) 1 34-8 Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles Stadium Australia, Sydney (9) 81,392 Greg Inglis
2008 5 October 2008 Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles (7) 40-0 Melbourne Storm Stadium Australia, Sydney (10) 80,388 Brent Kite
2009 4 October 2009 Melbourne Storm (3) 1 23-16 Parramatta Eels Stadium Australia, Sydney (11) 82,538 Billy Slater
2010 3 October 2010 St. George-Illawarra Dragons (1) 32-8 Sydney Roosters Stadium Australia, Sydney (12) 82,334 Darius Boyd
2011 2 October 2011 Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles (8) 24-10 New Zealand Warriors Stadium Australia, Sydney (13) 81,988 Glenn Stewart
2012 30 September 2012 Melbourne Storm (2) 14-4 Canterbury Bulldogs Stadium Australia, Sydney (14) 82,976 Cooper Cronk
2013 6 October 2013 Sydney Roosters (13) 26-18 Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles Stadium Australia, Sydney (15) 81,491 Daly Cherry-Evans
2014 5 October 2014 South Sydney Rabbitohs (21) 30-6 Canterbury Bulldogs Stadium Australia, Sydney (16) 83,833 Sam Burgess

The numbers in parentheses indicate the number of premierships won by a team, or the number of Grand Finals held at that venue.

1 The Melbourne Storm were stripped of these titles due to gross long-term salary cap breaches.

Premiership Tally

Titles Club Seasons
21 South Sydney Rabbitohs 1908, 1909, 1914, 1918, 1925, 1926, 1927, 1928, 1929, 1931, 1932, 1950, 1951, 1953, 1954, 1955, 1967, 1968, 1970, 1971, 2014
15 St. George Dragons 1941, 1949, 1956, 1957, 1958, 1959, 1960, 1961, 1962, 1963, 1964, 1965, 1966, 1977, 1979
13 Eastern Suburbs / Sydney Roosters 1911, 1912, 1913, 1923, 1935, 1936, 1937, 1940, 1945, 1974, 1975, 2002, 2013
11 Balmain Tigers 1915, 1916, 1917, 1919, 1920, 1924, 1939, 1944, 1946, 1947, 1969
8 Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs 1938, 1942, 1980, 1984, 1985, 1988, 1995, 2004
8 Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles 1972, 1973, 1976, 1978, 1987, 1996, 2008, 2011
6 Brisbane Broncos 1992, 1993, 1997(SL), 1998, 2000, 2006
4 Parramatta Eels 1981, 1982, 1983, 1986
4 Western Suburbs Magpies 1930, 1934, 1948, 1952
3 Canberra Raiders 1989, 1990, 1994
3 Newtown Jets 1910, 1933, 1943
2 Newcastle Knights 1997(ARL),2001
2 North Sydney Bears 1921, 1922
2 Penrith Panthers 1991, 2003
2 Melbourne Storm 1999, 2007, 2009, 2012
1 Wests Tigers 2005
1 St George-Illawarra Dragons 2010

Notes

  1. a Balmain failed to turn up for the Final and hence they were declared to have forfeited the match to South Sydney.
  2. a b The premiers were decided in a Grand Final replay after the first match was drawn.
  3. a b Bulldogs were known as Canterbury-Bankstown until 1994 and from 1996–1999, and as Sydney Bulldogs in 1995.
  4. a Sydney Roosters were known as Eastern Suburbs until 1994 and as Sydney City Roosters from 1995-1999.

References

See also